App opening screen ads have a new "shake" trick: suspected of infringing on consumers' right to choose independently

Have you ever found that when you open some apps, you are redirected to the advertising page even though you didn’t click on the screen?

Today, according to domestic media reports, the Jiangsu Provincial Consumer Protection Committee discovered that some apps have quietly launched a new splash screen advertising model: "Shake" to learn about the ad details or jump to related application software.

According to reports, the "shake" function means that when a user opens a software, if the opening screen advertisement interface is slightly shaken, the user will automatically enter the advertisement details page, jump to open the advertisement-related software, or even directly enter the software download page.

That is to say, when your body posture changes, such as when you are walking or riding in a bumpy car, it is possible to trigger the "click ad" effect.

In response, the Jiangsu Consumer Protection Committee stated that businesses that use misleading methods to induce users to enter advertising pages and force consumers to watch advertisements in disguise are suspected of infringing on consumers' right to choose independently.

In addition, the software accesses advertisements through the “shake” function by retrieving certain sensor data from the mobile phone, but there are doubts as to whether this retrieval is necessary and whether the software’s retrieval behavior has obtained the consumer’s consent and authorization. It is worrying whether the security of consumers’ personal data can be guaranteed.

It is worth mentioning that in July this year, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology launched a professional rectification campaign in the Internet industry, focusing on rectifying problems such as pop-up windows at the launch of application software to deceive and mislead users, and forcing them to provide personalized services. This includes scenarios where the entire screen of pop-up windows is a jump link, and false close buttons are provided during targeted push notifications. After a series of rectification actions, the placement of splash screen ads has become increasingly standardized.

[[440419]]